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So up until now I have been using ASUS for my motherboard but not sure how things are now..
(1st time upgrading and switching to AMD from Intel for a CPU after 6 years ^^ )
I was considering an x470 (like the Strix F or the Prime Pro) at 1st but they are still pricey..
( The Prime Pro tho looks soo good )

Anyway.. I've seen enough boards and I think I have come up to these 2 boards.ASUS B450-F Gaming & MSI B450 Carbon Pro AC (cause it is recommended everywhere I guess?)..
I've been searching for those 2, but reviews are mainly focused on OC capabilities and VRM temps.

I don't plan on manually OCing , I'll just let PBO do it's jobs - RAM I will be using is 3200MHz C16
(Will be using PC for gaming, maybe streaming a bit? and just movies, multiple apps and such..)

So had the urge to ask about which one cause I have some concerns..

- Was leaning towards the MSI one but recently saw that the size of the BIOS is limited and so the new BIOS updates that support Zen2, case fan control etc <GSE Lite> looks very basic and is limited? (a bit of a bummer but ok)​

(Only BIOS I have for comparison in my mind is the ASUS one on my existing board which is really user friendly)​

They say the B450--F's VRM heatsinks get really hot but is that true if you just use PBO?

Price is about the same (120GBP - ASUS is the cheaper one of the 2 but only about 5GBP).. The MSI is almost always out of stock but you can find it (Guess it means it is selling like crazy?)

BIOS can be flashed by retailer so that is not an issue on any purchase

For my use does it even matter which one I choose?

Don't get me wrong I really like ASUS and I would also consider the Prime Pro too (I think the price is like 30-35GBP more which is not great and takes me out of my budget but can do it if there is like a major difference..), but mainly the dilemma is between the 2 B450s in order to be on budget..

Respectable

The VRM on my board stays very cool even with my Ryzen 5 2600 OC'd to 4 GHz.
My board doesn't have a VRM sensor but I have a thermal sensor that I put between the VRM heatsink and the IO cover and it is around 30-32c at idle and has never gone above 46c that I have seen.
So those reviews that said the IO shield would cause heat issues were just wrong.
If they had actually tested this motherboard before making those videos they would have seen that it is not an issue at all.

Respectable

I can definitely recommend the Asus ROG Strix B450-F Gaming MB.
I have had mine since November 2018 and I am very happy with it.
I will most likely be upgrading to a Ryzen 3700x next year and I am very confident that my board will run that CPU just as well as it runs my OC'd Ryzen 5 2600.

Distinguished

I've been looking at the B450 Pro Carbon too. It might interest you that on Amazon it's normally £125, but it's dropped down to £120 twice in the last two days (and then gone back up).

Do you have the RAM yet? I've found this G.Skill Trident Z RGB for £86, which is meant to be very good (one step below B-die). It would take some tinkering to make to most of it though. It's also meant for Intel and not on the QVL of the MSI board (not sure of the Asus one), so there is a very small chance that it mightn't work and might require manually setting the frequency, if the XMP profile doesn't work.

Reputable

I can definitely recommend the Asus ROG Strix B450-F Gaming MB.
I have had mine since November 2018 and I am very happy with it.
I will most likely be upgrading to a Ryzen 3700x next year and I am very confident that my board will run that CPU just as well as it runs my OC'd Ryzen 5 2600.

How are the temperatures? Is the plastic cover from I/O really trapping the heat as they say?
I know I am overthinking it but I figured since the 3700x is only 65W TDP it should be ok?
People here and there complaining about the board's VRM..

Reputable

I've been looking at the B450 Pro Carbon too. It might interest you that on Amazon it's normally £125, but it's dropped down to £120 twice in the last two days (and then gone back up).

Do you have the RAM yet? I've found this G.Skill Trident Z RGB for £86, which is meant to be very good (one step below B-die). It would take some tinkering to make to most of it though. It's also meant for Intel and not on the QVL of the MSI board (not sure of the Asus one), so there is a very small chance that it mightn't work and might require manually setting the frequency, if the XMP profile doesn't work.

I bought the RAM yes. Got this Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro for £89 from SCAN. As far as I know, with infinity fabric, all 3rd gen CPUs from AMD are way better with RAM and don't necessarily need B-die.
I also saw MSI's QVL and couldn't really find even the most popular RAM kits.. + the whole thing with BIOS being stripped down to basic and RAID being ditched (I don't use it but heard they did that), cause memory is 16MB..

Reputable

The VRM on my board stays very cool even with my Ryzen 5 2600 OC'd to 4 GHz.
My board doesn't have a VRM sensor but I have a thermal sensor that I put between the VRM heatsink and the IO cover and it is around 30-32c at idle and has never gone above 46c that I have seen.
So those reviews that said the IO shield would cause heat issues were just wrong.
If they had actually tested this motherboard before making those videos they would have seen that it is not an issue at all.

Yeah well that is why I mentioned above that reviews are sometimes misleading.. at least for me..
They push everything on the edge (which is never the everyday use reality anyway...) and most of the opinions are OC focused.

To be honest 46c sounds pretty good! Even something like 50-55c would be acceptable I suppose under full load. no?
But again because 3700x is only 65W TDP.. even with PBO enabled it should not be that power hungry, hence not reaching those temps.. I was just confused

Respectable

Yes the Asus has a bigger BIOS chip so the BIOS retains it's graphical interface with the newer Ryzen 3xxx compatible BIOS.
As for heat my Strix B450-F runs very cool.
My motherboard sensor idles around 36-37C max around 40C, my CPU idles at 29-30C, max around 55-56C and my PCH idles at 39-40C, max around 46C (my borad doesn't have a VRM sensor) but I put a thermal sensor on top of my VRM heat sink and it idles at around 31-32 C and I have never seen it get above 46C.
So as far as heat goes my board does Very well.
Note: I do have very good case airflow.
I have 2 120 mm front intake fans, 1 120 mm side panel intake fan1 120 mm rear exhaust fan and 1 140 mm top exhaust fan.
My ambient temperature is around 22c (71-72 F)

Reputable

The VRM on my board stays very cool even with my Ryzen 5 2600 OC'd to 4 GHz.
My board doesn't have a VRM sensor but I have a thermal sensor that I put between the VRM heatsink and the IO cover and it is around 30-32c at idle and has never gone above 46c that I have seen.
So those reviews that said the IO shield would cause heat issues were just wrong.
If they had actually tested this motherboard before making those videos they would have seen that it is not an issue at all.

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